Former Penn State wrestler Aaron Brooks is now an Olympic medalist. Brooks saw his dream come true on Friday when he defeated Uzbekistan’s Javrail Shapiev 5-0 to grab a bronze medal in the 86-kilogram men’s freestyle class. According to Sports Illustrated, the Penn State star is the second wrestler in the school’s history to win an Olympic medal for the U.S. David Taylor became the first when he won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Another Penn Star wrestler, Katsutoshi Naito, won an Olympic medal for Japan in 1924, per 247 Sports.
The four-time NCAA champion fell short in his quest for gold when he lost against Bulgaria’s Magomed Ramazanov in the semifinals. Brooks then regrouped to win his bronze medal match.
In his first Olympics, the 24-year-old wrestler started the tournament with two wins. He earned one of those wins against top-seeded Azamat Dauletbekov from Kazakhstan, defeating him 4-3. After defeating Dauletbekov, Brooks defeated Japan’s Hayato Ishiguro.
Brooks qualified for the Paris games after defeating David Taylor at the U.S. Olympic Trials. The superstar wrestler now owns an Olympic medal, four NCAA championships, a U23 world title and another championship from the U17 2017 Cadet Worlds. The Maryland native was also a four-time state champion at North Hagerstown High School in Hagerstown, Maryland.
According to the York Daily, Brooks was considered to be a dark horse going into the Olympics. Now, he leaves Paris knowing he has proven himself on the world’s biggest stage.
